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Bob Hill

Mike Wilks

"They said that Mike was going to join us in Miami," Hill recalled after the Sonics practiced Monday. "I had never met Mike before. I was already on the bus when he got to the bus, so I stood up and told him, 'Mike, I'm Bob Hill. Great to meet you. I can't tell you how happy I am you're here; you're playing tonight.' He got a big grin on his face."

"Coach would call a play and I'd glance over at him and he'd point me to what side of the court I was supposed to be on." Issac Baldizon/NBAE/Getty

In his first game with the Sonics, without the benefit of any practice time, Wilks scored a season-high 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting and helped spark the Sonics second-half comeback in an eventual 115-106 loss. During Wilks' 22 minutes of action, the Sonics outscored Miami 51-35, heady stuff considering Wilks barely knew any of the plays he was running.

"Coach would call a play and I'd glance over at him and he'd point me to what side of the court I was supposed to be on," said Wilks. "The other guys helped me out a lot."

"He blew me away, I have to be honest with you," said Hill. "He was great."

The Sonics desperately needed Wilks because they were short on bodies after playing with just seven players the night before in Orlando. They used eight at Miami, with Ray Allen returning to the lineup after missing the Magic game with food poisoning and Wilks taking the place in the rotation of veteran Rick Brunson, who is working his way back from plantar fasciitis.

Playing with seven players was a new experience for Hill, who checked with the referees before the game about what would happen if three players fouled out. (For the record, the Sonics could keep five players on the court, but every foul starting with six would also have counted as a technical foul.)

"I've done that before, taking teams overseas, but I've never had to do it in the NBA," Hill said.

"The one thing about having seven guys - nobody complained about the minutes they got."

No Update on Russell

The Sonics have still not decided whether veteran forward Bryon Russell, acquired from the Denver Nuggets as part of last Thursday's four-team trade, will join the team.

"I told Bryon when we called him, 'Hey, to get the deal done, you had to be in the deal,'" explained GM Rick Sund. "'I don't want you to catch a plane and fly to Seattle if it's not a good situation for you or a good situation for the Sonics.' I said I would meet with the coaches on Monday and Tuesday and, if it's a good fit, we'd invite him in. Being the consummate pro that he is, he said, 'Thank you so much.' He doesn't want to come here if it doesn't make sense."

Collison a Father

The Sonics played without forward Nick Collison over the weekend after Collison returned to Seattle to be with his girlfriend, Robbie, for the birth of their first child. Emma Sloan Collison was born at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, weighing in at eight pounds, 12 ounces. Having everyone healthy is a relief to Collison.

"It was weighing me a little bit, I think," he said. "It's just a lot to go through in the middle of the season, the first time I went through it. It's funny, though - now is probably the hard part. But the worrying, that stuff, is done, so that's good."

Watson Remembers Seattle Fondly

Newly-acquired Sonics guard Earl Watson is glad to be back where he started his career with the Sonics in 2001-02. But Watson has enjoyed Seattle even dating back to his days at UCLA.

"Seattle was always my best trip in the Pac-10," Watson said. "I always loved coming in here and playing against Washington. My memory of Seattle the first year is the fans were so incredible and so loud, especially in the playoffs against San Antonio. It was unbelievable. That was a great feeling."

Still a big Pac-10 fan, Watson was spotted in attendance as the Husky men defeated California 73-62 on Sunday night.